Photograph
by millenniumthief
Summary: At the five year reunion, nobody has really changed that much. But, perhaps, it is just enough. Peachshipping for contest. YugiXTea.


Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. I wouldn't want to, anyway.

A/N: ALRIGHT! This is my attempt at finding my love of writing Yu-gi-oh fanfiction again so I can finish my fanfics in progress. And also, it's for a contest. Who doesn't like contests? So, here it is: my first blatant attempt at writing Peachshipping. I know it's a little rushed, and it's not the greatest story I've written, but I've grown fond of it.

Photograph

In the heat and humidity of a crowded gymnasium, Yugi couldn't help but pull at the striped tie circling his neck. He hadn't been here in five years, but apparently, Domino High School's officials still didn't think having more efficiently working air conditioning was a necessity. He barely resisted fanning himself with an ineffective hand, knowing his every move was being monitored by the camera crews and celebrity hungry students glancing in his direction.

He would never have thought it at the time of receiving the title of "King of Games," but being famous really sucked sometimes.

Business had forced him to travel much more frequently than he would have liked, to the point where his old friends started to drift away, and he wasn't about to make new ones and disappoint them as well. The rare times he had managed to get into contact with Joey, Téa, Tristan, and Bakura had assured him that they were fine and moving on with their own lives. He couldn't be more relieved to hear that they were living perfectly well after the nightmares that continuously consumed them all though high school.

Yugi was sincerely hoping that every one of his friends could attend the reunion, knowing that the personal contact would be beneficial to each of them. He couldn't even have fathomed how much he had missed them until he arrived at the school and felt the anticipation at the thought of seeing them again.

He wasn't so foolish to think that their friendship could be as normal as it was before graduation, and the cameras would certainly put a damper on things, but they didn't matter. All that mattered was being around them.

In the meantime though, he began to browse through the displays of memories that students had sent in for the occasion. There were pictures everywhere of cheerleading, physical education, science club, and of course, the game club that had formed after Yugi became the champion of Duel Monsters. There were quite a few pictures in there that he would rather forget, namely since he had hit a wicked growth spurt that left him uncomfortable in his own skin for a while. The pictures reflected that quite effectively, particularly the one of him laughing on the ground after his foot found the leg of a chair sticking out into the aisle.

Flushing sheepishly, he turned to some more of the photographs on display, feeling his eyes widen as he noticed one that he recognized instantly. It was of Joey, Téa, Tristan and him, all four of them flashing a peace sign or two and smiling ridiculously wide. They seemed so carefree and so close! That was far before anything that had happened at Duelist Kingdom or even Bakura's freaky tabletop game. Seeing it made his heart ache for just a split second, realizing they would never be so childlike again. He hadn't realized exactly how much they had all changed.

"I sent that in for us," a quiet voice addressed him, startling him momentarily. "I know all four of us have a copy, but it's been years since I pulled mine out."

Yugi felt himself smiling instantly, turning ever so slightly to see Téa standing behind him in a floor length aqua dress. "Téa, I missed you!"

The girl grinned slightly as he pulled her into a close hug. "Hi, Yugi."

"I haven't seen you since you started dancing! It's so good to see you again!" he gushed, his prior concern about the cameras forgotten. If the tabloids were going to make something scandalous over his seeing a long time friend for the first time in years, then screw them. He couldn't let something that trivial ruin his night.

"I could say the same to you," she teased lightly. "You'd better keep in touch better so we don't do this for another five years!"

"I will. I don't know exactly how yet, but I will," he assured her before going in for another embrace. "I promise." He pulled away again, looking around. "So, do you know when everyone else is going to be here?"

For a moment, there was silence as Téa chewed on her bottom lip, making Yugi worry that there was bad news coming, and he was right.

"You have your cell phone turned down, don't you? No one else was able to show up tonight…Joey was visiting Serenity down south and there's an awful storm there right now. Tristan's motorcycle lost a tire on the way here, so he turned back, and Bakura's flight home from Cairo was cancelled due to a sandstorm…Duke has an important meeting for Dungeon Dice Monsters tonight, and you know how Kaiba is about things like this. It's just us tonight."

The expression on Yugi's face was enough to say that he was properly floored by the revelations. He had been doing interviews of his return to his old high school the entire day, and he had been forced to turn off his phone. He severely regretted that decision now. The gymnasium suddenly seemed a lot less inviting now that it was full of people he never really took the opportunity to get to know. "I…guess I missed a lot, huh…? Well, we'll just have to have our own little reunion after this one gets over. There has to be a day that would work for all of us!"

Téa smiled brightly at the thought. "That's the spirit! Now, how about we hit up the refreshments and get this party started?"

Yugi thought that was a brilliant idea.

* * *

><p>Two hours, a ridiculous amount of punch, and several speeches later, the reunion was dying down, and Yugi and Téa finally decided they should leave.<p>

"Have you figured out where you're staying tonight, Téa?" Yugi asked as she collected her luggage from the coat room. To her embarrassment, the taxi driver hadn't given her enough time to find a hotel, let alone change into her dress. She had ended up changing clothes in the girl's locker room.

"Not yet, but I know there have to be some hotels with vacancies in the area," she reassured him.

Yugi wasn't having any of it, however, and he turned to her curiously. "Well, Grandpa's letting me stay in my old room in the game shop tonight. I'm sure I could move to the couch though if you wanted a more familiar place to stay," he invited. "But, we would have to walk there," he added as they exited the building.

For a second, Téa looked as though she might decline the offer, but smiling happily, she kicked off her heels and held them by their straps over her shoulder. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Yugi."

"It's no problem!"

They had walked about halfway back to the game shop in comfortable silence, when Yugi suddenly spoke up again. "Hey, Téa, what do you say to reliving high school in a way that isn't so stuffy and formal?"

She gave him a questioning glance. "What do you mean by _that_?" she wondered, eyebrows knit together in curiosity.

Grinning widely, he lifted his hand to point across the street. Following it, she first noticed the bright electronic and neon lights, and finally paying attention, she could hear the sounds from the machines inside. "You're joking," she said flatly, watching a group of middle school students leave the arcade. Catching Yugi's smug sideways glance at her, she couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay, what game do you want to play?"

"I was thinking the only one you were ever able to beat me at."

"But, Yugi, you're wearing dress shoes."

"And you aren't even wearing shoes. I'm sure we'll figure something out," he persuaded, grabbing her hand and leading her across the road.

"Oh, fine. But I'm not going to go easy on you!"

Upon entering the arcade, neither person could have imagined the strange glances they were given by employees and patrons both. They ranged somewhere in between confusion, amusement, hero worship, and some were even a little scared. Yugi and Téa didn't even seem to notice as they worked their way over to the dance platforms.

Being the gentleman he was, Yugi paid for the game and allowed her to pick the difficulty, stage, and song. This had never been one of his favorite games, but he had played it with Téa quite frequently when they would go there as kids. He was guessing neither of them had tried to dance on it in a very long time.

"Yugi! It's starting!" she yelled to break him out of his reverie. Excitedly, he watched as the countdown ended and arrows started to fly up from the bottom of the screen. He stepped at one as it neared the top.

**BAD**

"What? But I hit that one!" Yugi complained, and he heard Téa laughing beside him before gasping.

"Hey! Yugi, quit distracting me!" she yelped as she lunged for another arrow and missed.

"I'm not distracting you! You're distracting yourself." Still, he couldn't help but chuckle as he ended a string of good arrows with a complete miss. "Aww!"

By the end of the round, both of them were laughing so hard they could hardly stand, let alone dance, and as the song finished, they collapsed against each other in a fit of giggles.

"Wow, I feel old now," Téa stated at her dismal performance, snickering as they reclined against the bars to keep dancers from falling.

"You, old? Never!" Yugi denied, looking over at her and smiling. She rolled her eyes at the compliment.

"Still, it is almost just like it was back then. We would do this almost every week. It feels strange, doesn't it? I don't feel any different now than I did then, but I've moved on and gotten a job. I'm still the same person inside, though…"

Yugi watched her closely as she spoke, truly feeling like he did when they were in high school but with one key exception. "I feel the same but…back in high school, I wouldn't have done this." Pulling her towards him even as they sat, Yugi briefly placed his lips upon her cheek.

As he released her, Téa's hand moved against her will to rest at the place where his lips had been. "Yugi…"

"Téa, I-I'm sorry. I didn't think. It just felt like it did every time I saw you back then and I didn't even realize what I was doing until_-mmph_?" Suddenly, his mouth was muffled by Téa's own and he didn't even care if he could speak or not. All he knew was that he had wanted this for over five long years and it was finally his. He felt as though he could stay that way forever…

"A-_hem_"

Looking behind them, there was a very disgruntled employee staring at them from over the bars and they grinned sheepishly in response.

"We…were just leaving, weren't we, Yugi?" Téa rambled, blushing brilliantly and elbowing her friend in the ribs.

"Right! To the game shop, it is, heh heh…" he replied nervously. The employee watched them the whole time as she gathered her luggage and retreated out of the arcade.

* * *

><p>The next morning, after Téa had spent a very comfortable night in Yugi's bed (as he slept on the couch, of course) she found herself needing to leave in order to catch her plane for a show. "Yugi…I know the cameramen follow you everywhere…I didn't think of this before, but won't this cause some kind of a scandal?"<p>

He watched her very calmly before twining his hand with hers and smiling widely. "Let it," he said, and walked with her hand in hand out the door.


End file.
